Top 10 reasons to Skip the Straw During Your Destin Beach Vacation

When you take your next Destin beach vacation, consider skipping the straw. Why you may ask? Did you know that the average person uses 1.6 straws per day? This results in approximately 500 million straws used in the U.S. every day, and in turn, straws are among the top five trash items collected on the beach every year. Plastic straws are just one of the few single-use plastics that litter beaches and pollute oceans and they are one of the easiest items to skip. It’s globally estimated that over 100 million marine animals are killed every year by plastic waste.

To preserve Florida’s natural beauty and to keep beaches and water ways free of pollutants, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection encourages not just Florida residents but visitors as well to reduce their plastic use and “Skip the Straw.” If everyone in Florida, including vacationers, took this pledge, we would begin to reduce pollution by 2.35 million plastic straws. 

A few restaurants in Florida have already started to reduce plastic straw pollution by using paper straws or by eliminating straws all together unless requested. The Walt Disney Company took a stand and eliminated all single-use plastic straws and plastic stirrers at all of its owned and operated locations across the globe, which amounted to a reduction of more than 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers annually. If a large company like Walt Disney can take a stand in reducing plastic pollution, you can too. 

1.      500 million straws are used in the U.S. everyday. That’s enough to fill 125 school buses

2.      Plastic straws are among the top five items collected on the beach every year

3.      About 90% of trash in the ocean is made from plastic

4.      Plastic trash pollutes most marine habitats, including the deep sea, coral reefs, beaches and rivers

5.      In most places, plastic straws cannot be recycled

6.      Straws and other plastic harm sea life, including fish, turtles and coral reefs

7.      Straws are easily carried away by the wind ending up littering our beaches and in our oceans and waterways

8.      Every year, the U.S. uses enough straws to wrap around the earth 2.5 times

9.      About 90% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have plastic in their stomachs

10.      Plastic breaks down into smaller pieces, but never fully goes away

1.      Take the pledge to skip the straw

2.      Choose reusable products over disposable or single-use items when possible

3.      Pick up litter and properly dispose of it

4.      Participate in beach or river cleanups

5.      Purchase a reusable straw